1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule-type medical device that is introduced into a subject such as a patient and takes an in-vivo image of an organ of the subject, a method of washing a stomach, a method of monitoring the inside of a stomach, and a method of monitoring the inside of an esophagus and a stomach using the capsule-type medical device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a capsule-type endoscope having an imaging function and a wireless communication function has appeared in a field of an endoscope. The capsule-type endoscope is swallowed through a mouth of a subject such as a patient for monitoring (examination), and then sequentially takes images (hereinafter, may be referred to as in-vivo images) of the inside of an organ of the subject at predetermined intervals while being moved in an organ, such as a stomach or a small intestine, by peristalsis or the like until being naturally discharged from the subject. The capsule-type endoscope sequentially sends the in-vivo images to a receiving device, which is carried by a subject, by wireless (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-19111 and Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2005-523101).
The in-vivo images, which are wirelessly sent by the capsule-type endoscope, are sequentially received by the receiving device, which is carried by the subject, and sequentially stored in a storage medium. After that, the storage medium, which has stored the in-vivo image groups of the subject, is separated from the receiving device and fitted to a predetermined image display device. The image display device acquires the in-vivo image groups of the subject through the storage medium, and displays the in-vivo image groups of the subject on a display. A user, such as a doctor or a nurse, examines the inside of the organ of the subject by monitoring the respective in-vivo images that are displayed on the image display device, and makes diagnosis to the subject.
As the capsule-type endoscope, there is a capsule-type endoscope that has a specific gravity so as to be floated in a liquid introduced into the organ and sequentially takes in-vivo images while being floated in the liquid, in order to monitor the inside of an organ having a relatively large space, such as a stomach or a large intestine (for example, see Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2004-529718 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-121733).
Meanwhile, in order to intensively examine the inside of an organ having a relatively large space such as a stomach, a subject may take a liquid that extends the inside of the organ (specifically, folds of an inner wall of an organ), and a capsule-type endoscope of which the specific gravity is lower than the specific gravity of the liquid. In this case, while being floated on a liquid surface so as to maintain a predetermined position (for example, a vertical position where the central axis of the capsule-type endoscope in a longitudinal direction is substantially perpendicular to the liquid surface) in an organ such as a stomach, the capsule-type endoscope sequentially takes images of the inside of the organ that is extended by the liquid. The capsule-type endoscope is moved in a desired direction while being floated on the liquid surface in the organ. Accordingly, the capsule-type endoscope may extensively take images of the inside of the organ.